Many people can relate to the 'witch' in October. When the leaves change color, the air becomes crisp and Halloween is just around the corner. I've created this blog as a doorway into the life of a real witch who lives in New England, year round. An insiders look behind the creaky door of the haunted house of my life, where I am a witch 24/7 - 365. My name is Faith McCann and I will be writing a new post weekly. I hope you like my work.

The Contemporary New England Witch

Ms Faith

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Ancient Magickal Techniques - Using Hair

Good Evening My Witchy Readers,

This month I am going to present to you a short series of discussions which will focus on some ancient and unusual magickal techniques and or objects or materials not normally considered magickal. Like tonight's material, hair. Actually hair has had many magickal attributes attributed to it since the earliest biblical times, and is mentioned magickally numerous times in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.

We all remember the famous story of Samson and Delilah and how she robbed him of his strength by cutting his hair and that way he was able to be overtaken by the Philistines. And in the New Testament when Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany (John 12:3) 'Mary therefore took an expensive pound of ointment, made from spikenard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.' After anointing his feet with the special ointment, the only reason to wipe his feet with her hair was magickal in its totality. It was known, and still is, that the hair holds an electrical charge and it can be released into what it is rubbed against to enchant or charge or 'bless' if you will.

Yet most of the stories throughout history focus on taking the woman's or the witches magick and power from her by cutting her hair, In many very old cultures, from Greece, to Rome, other European cultures, coastal Mediterranean cultures the most magickal hair on a woman's body was the underarm hair. In various legends any hair from pubic to head hair even body hair was considered powerful, as those accused of witchcraft in ancient times often had their entire bodies shaved before trial and subsequent execution. If the hair was not considered powerful and magickally dangerous it seems that such a laborious step would not be taken and the accused would simply be tried and put to death.

It is interesting that one of the first 'spells' was considered to be braided into women's long hair. It is the only 'hair style' considered unacceptable' in the Bible for a woman, and it is mentioned because of the adornment but hair had been adorned in much more elaborate ways even before then, but the braided hair being considered a witches spell was known back then and was forbidden. The reason is because it was a common fashion for Pagan women.

The braided hair containing spells were common among Pagan women who used magick in their day to day lives. We see the braided design used again and again in the Celtic designs in their elaborate knot work, as seen in their jewelry, their clothing patterns, and in later times in stone carvings in their cemeteries and in sacred texts. Their knot work itself was magickal by its very nature and it is braided by design, so it is not hard to see a strong coloration to a woman's hair braid, which ancient Celtic queens and royal women were often depicted on coins, that have lasted through the centuries.

During the Victorian Era 1837-1901, mourning hair jewelry became very popular, especially as funeral pieces. Loved ones that had passed on, some of their hair would be harvested by a family member as the body was prepared for the funeral service, which was typically held in the family home, and different jewelry varieties, all unique, would be made from the hair of their loved one. These pieces would be kept as a keep sake or a talisman as a way to keep the loved one close and protected.

I do not think, in this day and age that hair jewelry would be a big thing anymore, but there are magickal ways we can continue to use our own hair to create magick and to cast spells to make needed change manifest.

You can use the ancient Celtic concept of braiding a love spell into your hair as long as you think of yourself and the happiness and love that will come your way. Only think of another person if you have asked that person and have received their permission.

You can use some of your hair from a hair brush of yours to help bind something of yours to you and to keep it in your possession. If you have a pet, that has a collar with a pocket for a tag, you can tuck a bit of your hair inside to help keep your pet from wandering too far away from home.

If you find a car at a dealers or an apartment for rent you really want, you can leave a small bit of hair behind to make circumstances better for you to be able to come back and take possession of your car or apartment.. Now, that is, if you are supposed to actually move into that space or buy that car. If there are other energies working, most likely energies you may have already put into the universe that have determined you are meant to go in another direction then that will happen. But your hair can help keep your 'item'' waiting for you until the time is right.

You might just need a couple of weeks to get the last of a security deposit or to get approval from a bank or something like that, so the placement of the hair just keeps things waiting for you, while others are not kept from buying a car or apartment, they simply find themselves attracted to other choices. It is much better that you do not know of any others who are interested just to be sure you are not manipulating any others. If your dealer or realtor starts to tell you of other interested parties stop them immediately and tell them you do not want to hear of any others. Besides, they only do that to pressure you anyway, there is no real reason you need to know of others interest.

Of course, some of my readers who may be more mature or nostalgic may remember when it was a more common thing to wear lockets, and at times one would put a lock of hair from a loved one within the locket to wear close to your heart. Actually, being one of the only body parts (if you will) that one can carry that would not be considered creepy or just downright weird, it still will do as it has always intended to do, carrying hair in a locket would keep your loved one close to you in spirit and energy. It does not matter if they are alive or passed on, their energy would be just as strong, carried this way.

Ancient women in most ancient cultures were considered young and innocent when they had short hair and when their hair was long and luxurious, it indicated a power and wisdom, experience and knowledge. Women back then were respected and revered. When the witch hunters came, the witch or woman accused of witchcraft was always stripped naked, her entire body was shaved of all hair including her head and in this fashion, completely naked and shaved, in front of hundreds of jeering, gaping, scornful, accusing people, she would be brought before a bank of 3 to 10 or more judges and tried. Many times in a language she did not understand.

Many of the 'witches' were country women, from small villages, who had little to no formal education and worked on their small farms who were accused and brought into the larger towns. Not knowing the formal language of the day, be it Latin, or formal French, or courtly English, only knowing the dialect of the countryside she resided in, she was unable to defend herself and was not allowed any legal defender, no witnesses in her defense and no defense of any kind except the opportunity to confess. Most did so, hoping for the forgiveness afforded the sinner that confessed her sins, but that was normally given over her body after it had been hung, burned or stoned to death.

All of this spoke of a great and deep abiding fear of the woman, even a simple country, village herb woman and the believed power she held. A power so great that she needed to be stripped of everything but her very skin to try to take as much of her power away before her life was taken. This happened again and again, hundreds of thousands of times, for well over a thousand years before the grip of fear of the witch finally loosened. It has only loosened because of the advent of modern, rational, reasonable laws preventing these actions from happening again.

Yet, the fear of the witch and the woman still, insidiously exists in our society to this day and we can see it, if we look very closely. We also see it in older women being told by the media and fashion magazines and men!! that shorter hair as they get older looks better on them. I myself have heard men say, older women look better with shorter hair. Hmmmm, really? I wonder why? Maybe because an older woman with wisdom and longer hair is just too much for a typical man to handle?

I will be discussing other ancient techniques over the next three discussions over the next week or two.

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About Me

I've been a practicing witch for over 30 years and in the Contemporary New England Witch blog I share my experiences and the discoveries of my witches life with you. I teach an introductory year of witchcraft studies at my school and store Enchantments in Manchester, CT as well as a short intro course at Manchester Community College. I hope you enjoy my writing.